Are You a Mary or a Martha?

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World: Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life by Joanna Weaver

If you ever felt like you didn’t have time for God, or you weren’t good enough for God, or you weren’t doing enough for God then this is the book for you! I feel the title speaks for itself which is what caught my eye and sparked me to read it. If you don’t know the story of Mary and Martha don’t worry, the author does a great job of creating a visual of their story and what these women were like. This book reveals to women how to blend their crazy hectic lives with intimacy with God and service for Him.

The author helps her readers identify with both Mary and Martha and how we tend to live like Martha, but desire to be like Mary. This book will help reveal some things in your life that may need a transformation, how to study the Bible and have a conversation with God, and exactly what to do during that devotion time. The author explains how and why we make time for our creator through Biblical illustrations and personal examples. The end of each chapter makes you feel a bit guilty for not choosing to sit at God’s feet over all other tasks (which I feel like we all need a sisterly conviction every now and then). She helps her readers clearly see what should be most important in our lives and how there is no balance if God’s not part of our daily schedule.

Each chapter highlights a different area such as balance, being teachable and my favorite-living room intimacy versus kitchen intimacy. These chapters were my personal favorite because the author compared our intimate relationship with God to the kitchen and the living room-it seems silly but hear me out. She goes on to explain how Martha thought she was of better service to God by conducting her host-like duties of serving in the kitchen, while Mary recognized that it is better to serve God by sitting at his feet in the living room and listening to Him. I LOVED this illustration because it is so easy for us to get caught up in serving God at church, through missions work, etc that we sometimes forget He longs for us to simply sit at his feet. We all have or had Martha mindsets, which the author explains isn’t a bad thing, but we need to have a Mary heart and know when to be still and fellowship with God.

It is evident that the author has studied her word and has spent precious time at God’s feet. She narrated the books so well through the eyes of Mary and Martha that you’d think the two sisters were co-authors. She uses simple and practical analogies, but provides deep counsel. I appreciate the author’s willingness to open up and be transparent about her own life and struggles of having a Mary heart. I highly recommend this book to ANY Christian woman, no matter your age because at some point you have or will identify with every stage in the book that the author speaks about. The book also includes a 12-week Bible study at the end as well. Enjoy!